High Peak's first B&M store would create 26 new jobs

The new store would be opened in Whaley Bridge, opposite the town's existing Tesco store.

Plans for the new retail development on land adjacent to Tesco in Whaley Bridge are due to go before members of High Peak Borough Council's Development Control Committee later this month.

The proposed retail unit, which would be reached from the existing access off Buxton Road, would provide 2,231 square metres of retail floor space. There would also be 103 car parking spaces, alongside landscaping and a new boundary fence.

According to the retailer, the development would create 26 equivalent full-time jobs.

A report published prior to the meeting - which recommends councillors approve the application subject to conditions - states: "Amended plans have been received removing the garden centre from the rear of the building."

It adds: "The development of the site would bring forward an economic use of the land, which has had planning consent for many years.

"There are no sequential preferable sites in the town centres of Whaley Bridge or New Mills and it will not materially harm the vitality and viability of surrounding town centres.

"The development will create new jobs and thus support economic growth in the High Peak."

The council's planning committee is due to make its decision on February 20.